Consumers still not taking on much credit card debt

Though the economy is generally improving and consumers may be feeling better about their personal finances, statistics indicate that many are still a bit wary of taking on credit card debt.

Consumer spending grew 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012, and though that's the fastest pace seen in more than a year, it seems that relatively little of that was actually the result of increased credit card spending, according to a report from the Associated Press. In fact, data from the Federal Reserve Board shows credit card purchases slipped in value by more than $5 billion between January and February.

Further, the Fed noted the amount carried on consumer credit cards overall totaled just $799 billion in February, the report said. That total was some 15 percent below the high seen in December 2007, the first month of the recent recession.

Since the recession hit, many consumers may have sought some sort of shelter from the high cost of credit card borrowing, including looking for debt relief, scaling back spending, or cutting it out altogether.